Photographer, Artist, Craftperson

Quote of the Day

Archive for February, 2017

Sharing your art is always risky and opens you up for rejection and you, of course, wonder it is a personal assault or bad art….and what is the difference anyway. Let’s take a look at that one!

I can, at this point, say I have received as many acceptances as rejections, but I only save the rejections. They remind me more that I’ve been out there, took the chance and felt like giving it all up. Don’t get me wrong, they are kind letters and supportive and tell me I did not fit in with their vision for the show and I get that. However, what I read is more akin to why are you doing this, do you really think you’re an artist and maybe you should have just weeded the garden or walked the dog instead.

I am doing some new work in a style that, although I am excited about, I am not yet comfortable with. The first time I showed it to a group it was greeted well with supportive suggestions and comments. Then I submitted two pieces to a gallery that usually shows my work and my work was not accepted (sadly, there was not even the courtesy of a rejection letter for my collection). My first thought was, after being snappish to someone who had no idea of what was going on in my head and becoming impatient with the dog, that the first group was really just being nice and “faking it”.

So, yes, this is just another blog on artistic rejection, there are hundreds (?). I feel better already!

Rest in Pieces

I want to share this article I found by Daniel Grant, A Problem All Artists Face: Dealing with Rejection in the Huffington Post. It lightened my load and made me feel not so alone.